Latest Taiwan arms sale reflects US indifference to mainland China’s reaction
- A US$180 million deal for Volcano anti-tank systems also suggests strategic lessons drawn from Ukraine’s defence against Russia, analysts say
- US grants approval despite China’s recent insistence that resumption of talks between their militaries depends on US ending ‘provocations’ involving Taiwan
The latest US$180 million arms sale to Taiwan, days after China staged a massive show of force near the self-governed island, reflects a growing US willingness to weather angry Chinese reactions and a renewed belief in the importance of asymmetric defence tactics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, military analysts and former Pentagon officials say.
The US is notably less willing to pull its punches to ease Beijing’s pique, analysts said. Washington has announced a three-fold increase in the value of weapons sales to Taiwan this year over 2021.
More than that, it went ahead with the latest deal despite suggestions conveyed to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin last month by his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, that any resumption of talks between the two militaries was contingent on the US ending “provocations” involving Taiwan.
China cancelled several planned “mil-to-mil” exchanges after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August visit to Taipei.